Depression affects 1 in 5 Australians. Find out more about how you can help yourself and others.
What is Depression?
Clinical depression is an illness, a medical condition. It significantly affects the way someone feels, causing a persistent lowering of mood. It is often associated with anxiety.
Depression is often accompanied by a range of other physical and psychological symptoms that can interfere with the way a person is able to function in their everyday life. The symptoms of depression generally react positively to treatment.
How many people experience depression?
About 1 in 5 people will experience a depressive illness at some time in their lives. Around 6% experience a more severe form of the illness.
What are the symptoms?
Depression has a variety of symptoms and will affect everyone in different ways. Symptoms include:
- Feeling extremely sad or tearful
- Disturbances to normal sleep patterns
- Loss of interest and motivation; feeling worthless or guilty
- Loss of pleasure in activities
- Anxiety
- Changes in appetite or weight
- Loss of sexual interest
- Physical aches and pains
- Impaired thinking or concentration.
What causes Depression?
There are a number of possible causes of depression. These include:
- A reaction to a distressing situation like loss or stress (reactive depression)
- For some women, following the birth of a child (post-natal depression)
- Being part of an illness like bipolar disorder in which the person experiences extreme moods without any reason –very high and very-excited or very low and depressed
- A chemical imbalance in the brain (endogenous depression). Sometimes the person may be affected so much that he or she experiences the symptoms of psychosis and is unable to distinguish what is real
Children and teenagers can also become depressed. This can show itself in different ways to depression in adults. They are best helped by a doctor who is a specialist in this area.
More Information
For more information on this mental illness including facts, diagnosis, treatment and where to go for help please refer to the following information.
> Depression - Mental Illness Fellowship of Australia (MIFA)
> Depression - SANE Australia
> Understanding depression - beyondblue
For more fact sheets, visit the A-Z Factsheets section.